The Ambassador's Hands
by Edna Pests
Summary: Post-Pacifist Route, a group of humans are employed to settle inter-species disputes on a day to day basis. But when Quinn joins the Hands, she soon finds herself facing burning buildings, bloodthirsty humans, and very plain spaghetti.
1. Family Values

Not long ago, in a galaxy one quantum leap away...

THE AMBASSADOR'S HANDS

 _It is a period of tension and prejudice on the surface. Everyday, reports are brought back to Frisk of monsters being attacked over the pettiest of misunderstandings. And so, the Ambassador's Hands were founded. The Hands were to act as spokespeople to humans who could only deal peaceably with other humans. They walked the streets, working to resolve inter-species disputes, and vowing to actively avoid violence, like the Ambassador before them._

 _However, branded as monster sympathizers, the Hands began to face many problems of their own..._

"Hey, can you pause it?" said her father.

Quinn lifted the remote, stopping the sci-fi movie she'd been watching with her brothers.

"What's up?" she said.

"Dan says it looks like the fire station is going with someone else." he said. "It's not official yet, but it might as well be."

Quinn blew outwards.

"Great." she said.

More anxiety for her. She was currently fighting off the rent on her apartment with unemployment pay. She'd wanted to be a fire-fighter since she was ten, but station after station had rejected her for being inexperienced. She'd been working as a garbage woman in the meantime, but then came downsizing.

"Well, that's alright." said Liam(the oldest sibling). "You'll get there eventually."

"I know." she said.

She didn't. You could, in fact, to get too old to be a fire-fighter. She was 22, so she had plenty of time, but still.

Her mother was narrowing her eyes.

"Who's 'someone else'?" said her mother.

Quinn braced herself.

"Someone called 'Greater Dog'." her father said, wryly.

"A monster?" her mother said, incredulously. "They're making a _monster_ a fire-fighter? Uh, _excuse me?_ "

"It does seem a little counter-intuitive, I'll admit." said her father.

"How so?" Quinn said, evenly.

Her mother tilted her head at her, condescendingly, and she could almost read her mind.

 _Here comes Quinn, with her politically correct crap again._

"Isn't it the same as, well, hiring them as cops?" said her mother.

Quinn shrugged.

"I don't see a problem with that either." she said.

"Oh, well, I'm probably wrong then." quipped her mother, so someone would rally to her defense.

"I think what your mother means is it's not smart to hire trouble makers as the people who clean up the trouble." said her father. "But I'll admit, that's a bit of a generalization."

"Only a bit?" said Quinn.

Liam shifted a bit in his seat.

 _Let it go, Quinn._

"Statistically, and I am _not_ making this up, monsters are at the root of most current crimes." said her father.

"Because they're the ones getting attacked." said Quinn.

"Sometimes." said her dad.

"Rory said a monster broke a man's arm in Nebraska!" said Kieran(the youngest).

He just wanted to be part of the conversation. _Jason_ just wanted to finish Star Wars, and was looking sullenly at the stilled screen.

"Yes, sweetie, but your sister thinks that's just a rumor." said her mother.

"Have you heard of a time when it was the other way around that wasn't based on shady evidence?" Quinn asked her father.

"I think it's a little illogical to assume that all those fights were started by humans." Liam interjected, softly. "I mean, _some_ monsters have to be flawed, you've gotta admit."

"...So, to sum up, because _some_ of them are _probably_ violent, we're upholding the generalization that most of them are?" said Quinn.

"Ultimately, it's nice to be optimistic, but you've got to keep an eye out." said her dad, flatly.

 _That...that doesn't even answer my point!_ she thought.

But she knew it was no good. They weren't going to actually listen to her. They were just going to recite their memorized points.

But now she was pissed, and if she was going to salvage this day with her family, she needed to cool off.

"Hmm." she said, noncommittally. "Well, I need to go to the bathroom."

"Oh, Quinn, come on." said her mother.

"No, I actually _do_ need to go to the bathroom."

So, after she faked using the bathroom, she went to the kitchen, where Liam and their parents were chatting.

"I think I left my coat at the library." she said. "I should be back by four."

"Alright." said her mother, turning back to her conversation.

It was clear she was meant to take offense at being let off so easily.

Quinn walked to her car, and drove off with extreme prejudice.


	2. UNPARALLELED SPAGHETTORE

She kept driving until she found herself coming up on the relatively-new, spaghetti-centric restaurant. Everyone knew it was run by a monster. People would give each other knowing looks as they passed by, and her parents would make thinly-veiled comments. She had a sudden urge to eat there.

She pulled in, parked, and took a look at the outside. A loop of rope was hanging by a nail on the door-frame, and on the rope was a row of friendly looking white signs, all in caps. There seemed to be a general theme of, 'HUMANS WELCOME!' and 'UNPARALLELED SPAGHETTORE!'

She felt some of her anger draining away as she chuckled.

She pushed open the double-doors. It only took one glance to see that the place was full of monsters, in place of a mix of both species. She knew it shouldn't, but this made her feel a little awkward. She edged toward the front counter, where a helpful looking young bunny was waiting to escort her to a table, when suddenly-

"HUMAN!"

A tall skeleton, with a red scarf, was pointing at her from the back. All the monsters turned in their seats to see, and suddenly the whole restaurant was looking at her.

Her breath had stopped.

He'd shouted it like an alarm. Did they think she was here to attack them? _The signs said come in!_

The skeleton quickly bounded to her side, and ushered her forward with a sweeping gesture.

"HAVE A SEAT, HUMAN! YOU ARE DECIDEDLY WELCOME!"

Oh, thank God. He was just enthusiastic.

He led her to one of the small tables near the center, made for parties of one. She sat, awkwardly.

"WOULD YOU CARE TO SEE THE MENU?"

 _Fuck. Fuck,_ fuck _. I'm broke. I was so focused on being a rebel that I forgot that I'm fucking broke. Ground, please, just swallow me now._

"Um," she started, quietly.

Surprisingly, the skeleton seemed to register the need for privacy, and leaned forward.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot, I'm actually broke as hell right now." she said.

"MONEY IS UNNECESSARY, HUMAN!" he projected, in her face. "THE FIRST PLATE IS FREE! WAIT HERE, AND YOUR FOOD SHALL ARRIVE MOMENTARILY!"

"Thank you!" she called after him.

She fiddled with the table-cloth, keeping her eyes down, and hoping the still glancing monsters would take a hint. Most of them seemed to, returning their attention to each other.

She should never have come here. Who comes to a restaurant without cash?

"do you think mine would've been if I had skin?" said a low voice.

"Sans, you've never payed a damn thing in your life."

"right you are. hey, buddy. kid?"

It took a moment for her to realize he was talking to her. It was another skeleton. Shorter, rounder, and somehow seeming infinitely approachable.

"sorry if my brother scared you." he said. "what's your name?"

"Quinn." she said, amiably. "And no, he was fine. My mortification, less so."

"don't stress it, kid. he's just happy you came in. you know, he set up this place to be a spot where monsters and humans could get to know each other, but it hasn't been going so well. i think the signs put humans off, but maybe, well..."

"They're assholes?" she said.

He chuckled. "well, not all of you, quinn, not all of you. but anyway, the place should start picking up soon. the hands are planning to come by on the regular."

"The Ambassador's Hands?"

"them's the folks."

He looked up from his food(which she now had occasion to realize he didn't have the stomach for), and looked at her appraisingly. Or at least she thought so. She was going by posture.

"what do you think of them?"

"The Hands?" she said. "...They seem well-intentioned, but the concept's a little weird to me, to be honest. I mean, humans talking for monsters?"

"it _is_ weird. not only that, it's not right. but most of us will do anything not to fight, and if that means filtering our defense through a human voice, that's what we're gonna do. but i hear the plan is to start introducing monster hands once people's minds have opened up a bit."

But, judging by the fact that now the Hands themselves were getting flak, that looked a long way off.

"listen, this may be none of my business, but might'nt you be broke because you're jobless, quinn?"

"That is a correct assumption that you have just made, Mr. Sans."

"ever thought of being a hand, perchance?"

"Ha!" she said. "A-ha! No. I couldn't."

"why not?"

Oh no. The perfect question. She _did_ have a habit of immediately rejecting sudden opportunities that weren't in her plan.

"...Do they require any previous experience?" she asked.

"not really. they're basically grabbing anyone's who's monster friendly."

She shook her head. "My parents would be _so_ mad."

"you know, this may the wildest, most ludicrous of shots in the dark, but i'd say you weren't overly concerned with their opinion on the matter."

Quinn had felt a smile spreading on her face as his sentence progressed.

"Very true." she said. "Ve-ry true..."

She was starting to feel excited now- the impulsive, rebellious excitement that often precipitated regret.

"What would one do, say, if they were interested in such a posish?" she asked.

Sans began patting his pockets. "hang on. i think i got a number you can call."

A skeletal hand suddenly zoomed in front of her.

"YOUR SPAGHETTI IS READY, HUMAN!" announced Sans' brother, putting the plate in front of her.

She'd started, with an, "Oh, God!"

"HAVE I SCARED YOU, HUMAN? IF SO, I APOLOGIZE! IT IS DIFFICULT TO CONTAIN MY INTIMIDATING GRANDEUR!"

"No, I'm just easily startled." she assured him. " _Thank you_ for the food. Really."

"YOU ARE MOST WELCOME! SANS, GET YOUR ELBOWS OFF THE TABLE."

The latter said over his shoulder as he left. Sans did so.

"oh, sorry, bro." he said, unbothered. "didn't realize it was that kind of restaurant."

Winding some around her fork, Quinn tried the spaghetti. It wasn't bad, but it was extremely plain. A Scoop Of Noodles, and a Scoop Of Sauce. No more, no less.

"hey, for my bro, this is pretty good." said Sans, as though reading her mind. "not only is it pleasant, it's _edible_."

Quinn chuckled.

Sans put a card on her table. The outline of a heart was printed on the corner.

"give 'em a ring, kiddo." he said.


	3. Paperwork

On the phone, she'd gotten a warm, amiable voice assuring her they'd be thrilled to have her. Quinn got the impression that they'd be willing to accommodate just about anything to get her on the payroll. All they needed was enough information to do a background check to be sure that she didn't have a violent history, and they were set.

She arrived at the Hands' station about half an hour before she was due, parked in the back, and waited twenty minutes before getting out. The building was about the size of a small library, made of russet red brick. There was a large, wooden placard hanging from the front, painted black with a red heart in the corner, and 'THE AMBASSADOR'S HANDS' stamped in red. The paint looked fresh. She imagined it was a popular target for vandalism.

Stealing a breath, she went inside.

At first glance, the welcome desk seemed unoccupied. Then she found the tip of white pair of ears. The small, bunny like monster peeked around the desk.

"Complaint or applicant?" she asked.

"Uh, applicant?" said Quinn.

The bun nodded. She took a sheaf of papers from her seat, waddled out from behind the desk, and started making her way down the hall.

"This way." she said, over her shoulder.

"Oh." said Quinn, and followed.

The bun led her to an office where an older bunny like monster was shifting through the papers on her desk. She wore a tank-top, and struck Quinn as someone who wouldn't be afraid of getting up to their elbows in engine grease.

"Applicant." said the bun, handing her the papers over the desk.

"Well, hiya." said the other, and Quinn immediately recognized the voice. "You must be Quinn. Thank you, bun, you can go."

The bun toddled off.

"I'm Cora," said the other, extending her hand.

Quinn shook it. "Nice to meet you, Cora."

"Nice to meet you too. Why don't you have a seat?"

Once they had, Cora leaned back, and said, "Well, Quinn, we'd like to have the luxury to make your first day all about settling in, but we can't afford to squander an ounce of your help. So, after orientation, we'd like to send you right off on your first beat. Could you handle that?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's fine." she said, at once. "I mean, the sooner I know everything I'm doing, the better."

"Glad to hear it. Now, all we need you to do is sign the Hands' agreement, and you can get started. Why don't you go ahead and take it into the other room? It's mighty important, so don't worry if it takes you awhile to page through it all. After that, I'll introduce you to the rest of your team, and then your trainer will take over."

Quinn crossed to a somewhat cramped room, full of filing cabinets. A pen was already waiting for her on the table. She laid the agreement out across it.

At first, she read everything attentively, but it all looked like the stuff that you'd expect. If your property is stolen on the job, we aren't liable, don't use violence on the job unless it's in immediate self defense, yada yada...

 _She said she wants me on the job today. They don't really expect me to read all of this, do they?_

She started skimming through, pausing for the bolded areas, and empty information to fill out, like who to contact if she was injured. When she'd signed her way through, she went back to Cora's office.

"All done." she said.

"Good." said Cora, taking the papers. "Lets see...Yup, all seems to be in order. Welcome to the Hands, Quinn."

She smiled. "Thank you."

She wondered- not for the first time, or the last- what the hell she'd gotten herself into.

 _((AN: Something come up that's going to require all of my attention, so this story is being put on hold for a while. Should start up again somewhere in the first week of May.))_


	4. The Hands

Cora led her past a locker room, where Quinn deposited her bag, and into a room mostly carpeted in dark blue training mats. This was where they found the rest of the Hands. They were all dressed in loose, comfortable clothing, and either stretching or chatting. There were maybe sixteen or so. Their conversation died down when she entered.

"Everybody, this is Quinn." Cora said, amiably. "Quinn, this is everybody. Your trainer will be here soon. Until then, why don't y'all get to know each other? I'll see you around. I have some work to finish."

Cora left, taking Quinn's sense of security in the sea of strangers with her.

There was half a moment of awkward silence before one of the shorter, curvier Hands spoke up.

"Hello, Quinn. You're ripped."

"Thank you." said Quinn. "I'm training to be a firefighter."

"Then why are you here?" she asked.

"Hey, now." said one of the older Hands, perhaps in her thirties.

"I'm just asking." said the short one, throwing up her hands. "I mean, I'm sure there are easier jobs you could take in the meantime."

"I don't know." said Quinn. "Seems like this and firefighting go hand in hand-"

"Ayyyyyyyyyyy!" said the short one, at the unintentional pun.

Quinn shot her with finger-guns, and then continued, "They're both about protecting people."

"Well said." said the older one. "Nice to meet you, Quinn. I'm Tasheka. This rapscallion-" she indicated the short one. "-is Valeria. This is-"

Tasheka went on, introducing her to each of the Hands in their branch. Sometimes one of the others would make a ribbing comment when their friend was introduced, and Quinn got the impression that they were all very much a family, like a theatre cast. They all left their own impression, but one in particular stuck in her mind. A woman her own age named Saqui. Her brown hair was cropped close in a pixie cut, and she had a wiry build under her sleek clothes, making her look taller than she was. When she was introduced, she gave a simple nod, and a, 'Hey,' as if she was happy enough to meet her, but she had other things on her mind.

"Great." said Kinu, one of the more athletic Hands. "Now, we'll have to go through The Speech again."

"We could all do with another listen." said Yazen, then he looked pointedly at Valeria, who acted oblivious.

"What? What speech?" said Quinn.

"She means our trainer's orientation speech." said Tasheka. "You'll love our trainer. She really looks out for us."

"She'll also kill you." said Valeria.

"She _won't_ kill you." said Tasheka. "Probably. We think."


	5. HERE COMES THE GENERAL!

"Speak of the devil." said Valeria, nodding towards the doorway.

The first thing Quinn noticed was the effect their trainer had on the Hands. Everyone, even Valeria, automatically straightened. Not out of fear, but with a sense of, 'Alright, now something significant is going to happen.' Quinn turned towards the entrance, and a thrill went through her. She recognized their trainer at once. In her own field, she was a legend.

"What are you just standing like that for?" said Undyne the Undying. "Fall in line, punks!"

Quinn jumped, but she noticed that while the others obeyed, they didn't seem bothered.

Undyne made her way down the line, taking off her coat, and tossing it into the corner. When she reached Quinn, she stopped.

"So, you're the new dork I'm supposed to care about." said Undyne. "Well, I don't believe in starting soft! You're about to start on some of the most important work a human can do! You're gonna face all kinds of crap, and be expected to smile in return! If the Hands fail, then monsters won't be able to walk down any street in safety! I'm here to teach you morons self-defense, in case you're attacked on the job. But we're not here to pummel humans. If you're attacked, your top priority is to escape, _not_ pound! Now, present yourselves!"

Present yourselves turned out to mean splitting into pairs. Quinn got paired with Valeria, luckily. Demonstrating on Tasheka, Undyne began to teach them how to break out of various holds. Despite her firefighter training, Quinn soon found herself sweating, but Valeria's occasional impressed looks assured her she was at least doing better than the average beginner.

"Alright, wimps." said Undyne, after a while. "Get ready for your beats!"

Quinn followed the congregation towards the doorway when Undyne stopped her.

"Hey, Maciver." she said, in a gentler tone than before.

"Yes, ma'am?" said Quinn.

"What are you doing this for? What are you _really_ doing this for?"

Quinn wondered if she was in trouble, but Sans had seemed to approve, so maybe Undyne would too.

"...My parents don't want me to." she answered.

Undyne nodded. "Anger. I thought so. You're going to want to change that quickly. It won't lead you anywhere good."

Quinn was confused and frustrated to hear this, but she simply nodded with a,

"Yes, ma'am."

"Follow me." said Undyne.

She led her to the locker room that the other Hands had already vacated. Undyne went to the last locker, took a coat, and tossed it to her. It was a black, button up, military style jacket with a red heart on the upper left side.

"Write your name on the label." she said.

Quinn did so, using the marker Undyne offered. It was satisfying to see her name printed there. Official. She slid into it. That felt better still. Undyne nodded, as if sensing this.

"Remember, punk, we represent more than ourselves." she said. "Now, it's time for your first beat."


	6. The Altercation

The beat had been nerve-wracking, though, up to this point, nothing had actually happened. She'd spent the whole time hoping no one would approach her. Sometimes people would look at her coat, and she'd get a chill of apprehension, but then they'd just look away with that sort of half eye-roll. While this was insulting, she was too relieved to be offended.

She'd almost finished, and was just thinking that she'd be able to finish the whole day without getting approached once, when suddenly-

"THIEF! How _dare_ you!"

"Al- Ala _kazam!_ "

" _Stop_ doing that! I don't want to see that!"

 _Oh, son of a bitch._

She inched towards the shouting, trying to figure out what was going on before getting involved. A middle aged woman, with a stuffed cloth-bag, and a head of cabbage clutched in her hand, was jabbing her finger towards a little Madjick. The Madjick seemed confused, occasionally letting off sparks, trying to make the woman happy.

"You stole my cabbage!"

"T- Tinkle, tinkle, hoy!"

" _Enough._ I'm calling the police!"

That was her cue.

"Hello!" said Quinn, coming forward. "What seems to be the problem?"

" _There_ you are!" said the woman, and _that_ irritated Quinn. "Your little freak stole my cabbage!"

"Would that be the cabbage in question?" asked Quinn, nodding towards it.

 _I'm so good. I didn't even pause sarcastically._

"Don't get sassy with me!" snapped the woman. "The moment I called it out, it gave it back, of course! As if that makes it all alright!"

"Is this true?" said Quinn, addressing the Madjick.

"Of _course_ it's true!" snapped the woman. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"One second, ma'am." Quinn said, and nodded at the Madjick, encouragingly.

The Madjick looked from her, to the woman, back to her. He picked a stick off the ground. With a twitch of his fingers, it vanished. Another twitch, and it reappeared.

"...Alakazam!" it said, with less enthusiasm.

"Hmm." said Quinn. "Ma'am, were you visibly irritated when you passed by?"

"What the _hell_ does that have to do with anything?"

"I think he was just trying to cheer you up with a magic trick. No thievery intended."

"Oh, you're all the same!" she said. "You always take the Monster's side! If you won't listen to me, then the police will!"

Quinn felt a flurry of panic. What was she supposed to do?

"Ma'am, there's _really_ no need for that." she insisted.

"Oh, there most certainly is!" said the woman, taking out the cell.

Quinn was on the verge of offering to pay for the un-stolen cabbage to sway her, when a shy, scrawny boy stepped forward. It was obvious he'd had to work himself up to this. He stepped so that he was partly behind Quinn.

"Um, excuse me." he said. "I saw the...the incident, and, uh...it was pretty clear that...that you're right. It was just trying to do a magic trick."

 _Be firm_ , said her instincts. She turned back to the woman.

"It looks like we have a witness." she said, evenly.

The woman spluttered, and looked around for support. But no one else was waiting around.

"Oh, go to hell!" she snapped, and stormed off.

Quinn turned to the boy, who looked four years her junior.

"That was a brave thing you did." she said.

"Oh, I just said what I saw." he said.

"Have you ever considered being a Hand?" she asked.

"No." he said at once, and awkwardly walked away.

"...Well, then." said Quinn.

She looked down at the Madjick.

"You okay, little guy?" she asked.

The Madjick nodded, and tipped his hat to her. She smiled.

 _((AN: If you're reading this, could you leave a brief comment? My inspiration's waning, and I know it'd help to know this is being read.))_


	7. Dinner and a Show

When she got back to the lockers, only Tasheka and Kinu were left. They told her the others had gone to Papyrus's, that they were about to join them, and would she like to come? When they arrived, they found the restaurant mostly deserted, aside from a few stray monsters, and the Hands sitting together at a joined table. Papyrus was standing near them, and all their focus was on the television hanging in the corner.

Valeria spotted them, and ushered them forward with her finger on her lips. The three took a seat, and she put the bread-sticks on their side. On the screen, Mettaton(who was unquestioningly hated by Quinn's parents) was sitting across from a Froggit.

"I find the mildew makes for a comfortably damp atmosphere." Froggit was saying.

"How fabulously innovative." said Mettaton. "A living space that some might consider insufferably drab makes a happy tenant of a Froggit!"

"Several Froggits! I have three roommates, and they all agree the smell is quite pleasant."

"See, I never would have thought of that." said Mettaton, leaning forward with his gloved fist in front of him, as if his screened face could rest on it. "Four roommates to one small apartment? Well, what does that matter to _you_ little darlings?"

"Yes, we are rather small." nodded Froggit.

The interview continued, and, from what Quinn could suss out, there was nothing particularly outstanding about the Froggit that warranted one. It was just a human interest story, but with monsters. Then she realized that was probably the point- to humanize monsters in their eyes.

When the show broke for commercials, Mettaton telling the audience to stay tuned for Shyren performing her new hit single, Papyrus clapped.

"AN EXEMPLARY SHOW!" he said. "IT'S MY FAVORITE, YOU KNOW. HUMAN! YOU ARE BACK!"

" _Yes_ , I am." Quinn said, smiling.

"IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU WITH THAT HEART ON YOUR SHOULDER. WHAT CAN I GET FOR YOU?"

She takes a quick glance at the menu, glad she could pay this time.

"Classic spaghetti, and a fizzy, please." she said.

"Same for me." said Tasheka.

"And I'll have the spaghetti soup." said Kinu.

When Valeria gave her a look, Kinu shrugged, and said, "I'm adventurous."

"EXCELLENT CHOICES, HUMANS." said Papyrus. "YOUR FOOD SHALL BE READY MOMENTARILY."

And he was off.

"So, Quinn, how was your first route?" Tasheka asked.

Saqui got up.

"Where you going?" asked Valeria.

"I'm finished. I have to sleep for tomorrow." said Saqui.

"Have fun." Quinn said, instinctively.

Saqui looked at her.

"Sleeping, I mean." said Quinn. "Rest is- _Goodnight_."

Valeria bit back a grin, but Tasheka glossed over the situation before it could get any more awkward.

"See you tomorrow, Saqui." said Tasheka.

Saqui nodded, and was off.

"Go on, Quinn." said Tasheka.

"Yeah, give us another taste of that smooth talking." said Valeria.

" _Valeria_." said Tasheka, gently reproachful.

Quinn briefly told them the story of her encounter with the Madjick, and the cabbage lady.

"I wish I was there when the kid came up." said Valeria.

"I feel like I got lucky." said Quinn. "If she'd been just a bit more determined, I'd have been dealing with the police."

"Yeah." said Tasheka. "There are some nasty people out there, but most of them just want to shout at you. They don't want to monopolize their day by getting the police involved."

"What do I do when they _do_ get involved?"

"You hang around, and act as a witness. But at that point, it's out of your hands, really."

"Eeeeeeey!" said Valeria, pointing at her.

"Eeeeeeey!" said Kinu, doing the same.

"Eeeeeeey!" said Tasheka, pointing back at them. "Anyway, I know it's scary _now_ , but eventually it'll start to feel routine."

Valeria chuckled. They looked at her. She brandished her fork.

"He _stole_ my fork!" she whined.

They laughed.

The rest of the evening continued with more funny on-the-job stories, an inspection of Kinu's order(which turned out just to be mashed noodles and sauce), laughing at Mettaton's show, and good, if plain, spaghetti.


	8. Quinn's Apartment

She shut the door to her apartment, and slumped against the door in relief. While hanging out with the Hands had its moments, they were still a new crowd, so a lot of the time was spent worrying about how she was perceived by them. Yazen making a face whenever she mentioned something she thought she might of screwed up on didn't help, of course(like when she realized she'd been patrolling the wrong street for ten minutes).

She took a look around the apartment. Various posters were stuck to the walls, as well as several paintings. She'd found an old calendar(full of Van Gogh, and the like), and had cut out the pictures. Currently, the place was pleasantly toasty.

"Vulkin?" she called. "Where are you, buddy?"

"Uh- up here!" the Vulkin called back.

She went up to her bedroom, where the Vulkin was just finishing. The lava like substance inside him reflected off the walls in an orange and scarlet light. For a cheap fee, a Vulkin would warm up your pad while you were gone, a lingering warmth that would last for three to four days.

" _Very_ well done." she said.

"Ahh! Ahh! Does my best!" said the Vulkin, happily.

"Here you go."

Quinn gave the Vulkin his money in the customary manner, by dropping it in the volcano spout in a ziplock bag.

"Thank you!" said the Vulkin.

"Can I ask you something before you go?"

"Uh huh!"

"I don't mean to be offensive. I'm just trying to clarify. Do you each have different names, or all you all called-"

"Vulkin!" said Vulkin. "I am Vulkin. And he is Vulkin, and she is Vulkin. We know who we are, so it alright."

"Oh. Good. Well, thank you, Vulkin. Goodbye!"

"Byeee!" said Vulkin, crawling forward.

Vulkin made his way out, rising up on his hind legs to turn the doorknob. The moment he was gone, Quinn stripped off her coat, removed her bra without removing her shirt, and flopped onto her bed. She took a moment to bask in the warmth, and the freedom being alone brought. But not for too long, because she only had so much time before bed. She got up, removed her makeup with a wipe, then went to her kitchenette to make herself a big bowl of cereal for dinner. She sank into her squashy couch, whose arm was stitched with different designs from the days when she had friends, and turned on some cartoons.

She could have done better today. But hey, at least the police weren't called. She was pretty terrifying about screwing this Hand thing up, but she was also starting to get the sense that this might be a dream come true for her. She'd be a hero, be sticking it to the man, and she'd get to be friends with the sort of types of people she thought only existed in books.

After an hour of munching, and muffled laughter, she dozed off on the couch.


	9. The Revolutionists

Cody descended the stairs into Quade's basement. The others- twelve for now, but they were rallying for more- looked up from the stained couches they adorned, and nodded at him.

"You bring the cheese curls?" asked Budz.

"Can you shut up about the cheese curls? Lets start already." said Quade.

"Are you guys serious about this?" said Cody. "Protesting is one thing. Vandalism is another-"

"It's not. Fucking. Vandalism." said Quade. "It's fighting back. They came to our land, killed our people, our children-"

 _Not your children, Quade._ thought Cody. _You're twenty-four, and your last girlfriend dumped you because you acted like she was stupid_.

"-and now they just think they can come back, and make us let our guard down, and no one's gonna do anything about it? No! If the government won't stop them, it's up to us."

"Hear, hear." said Budz.

"What, _us_ us? Us twelve?" said Cody.

"No, you idiot." said Shooting. "Once we start fighting back, so will everyone else around the world."

"Exactly." said Quade. "So, lets stop talking about it, and start planning. Ideas?

Nobody spoke up.

"Oh, for fuck's sake-" said Quade.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" said Shooting. "Lets trash the Hands place. Show 'em what we think of them."

"Guys, I'm with you, but I'm not going anywhere near that fish." said Cody.

"Plus, if our first target is a bunch of humans, it'll make _us_ look like the bad guys." said Quade.

"What about those fucking Vulkins?" said Jairyd. "They're going straight into people's homes now, when they're not even in the building."

"I like that idea." said Quade. "What do we know about Vulkins?"

"Well, they're, like, lava?" said Green. "Couldn't we just dunk a water bottle on one?"

"Yes!" burst Garett, suddenly. "Oh, _ho_ , I have an idea! Fucking two birds, one stone. I have one that moved across the street from me. Only, how about we don't use water. Lets use _ice_."


	10. Saqui

Quinn didn't want to say she distrusted Saqui. She wanted to pursue a good relationship with all the Hands, even Yazen, straight-laced as he was. But it was like Saqui was watching them from behind her rarely interjected during their conversations, but whenever she did, it was something hilarious delivered deadpan. And while she never said anything _out-rightly_ condescending, she sometimes would just look at Kinu, and Quinn would wonder if she was judging them all. She had some sense of what everyone there was like, beneath the front they put on. Valeria had, sadly, felt the need to give up on herself, which was why she was so casual. Kinu was still desperately trying. Yazen was terrified of failure, and he took it out on everyone around him. But she couldn't get a good read on Saqui, other than the fact that she was obviously intelligent.

Quinn had made a joke in front of her, and while the others had chuckled, Saqui had just looked at her. Like she looked at Kinu. True, she was moving a stack of paper at the time, so she wasn't obligated to stay and laugh, but it _might_ have been interpreted as a statement. Quinn was ruminating on this while she and Valeria got their coats to start their beats.

"Yo, has anyone seen my jacket?" said Valeria.

There was a chorus of nos from the few who hadn't already departed.

"Are you sure you put it back last night?" said Yazen.

"Yes, Yazen, I'm sure I put it back." said Valeria, irritated. "I always do. It's an ingrained habit."

"Why don't you ask Saqui?" joked Quinn, on an impulse. "She seems pretty shifty."

Valeria widened her eyes, and looked pointedly over Quinn's shoulder.

Quinn wanted to die inside. Before she even turned, she'd started her sentence.

"Sorry about that." said Quinn. "I was just kidding around."

Exquisite Saqui, with her dark eyes, and prominent cheekbones, nodded appraisingly.

"Of course. But I can't help how I come across." she said. "Like you, for instance."

She stepped forward. Any closer, and they could've felt each other's breath. Quinn already thought she could feel the heat.

" _You_ come across as a tall, athletic, brunette with smooth, tanned skin." said Saqui, deadpan. "But you learn to live with it."

Quinn felt like she was expected to say something, so she tried to cobble together something coherent.

"I...I work out." she said.

Saqui nodded.

"I thought as much." she said.

Having gotten her jacket, Saqui pulled out Valeria's from the bottom of the locker where it had fallen, threw it to her, and left.

Quinn turned to Valeria.

"...Did I just ruin my chances with the hottest lesbian here?" said Quinn.

"Excuse me!" said Kinu.

"You're bi." Valeria said, then looked at Quinn, "And, buddy, that didn't look anything _like_ ruined chances."


	11. To Woo A Lady

Quinn was a preparer. She had to prepare, mentally and physically, for most everything in her life. If her friends said, 'Hey, want to go to this thing tonight', the answer would always be no, because she needed at least a day of foreknowledge. Her suddenly deciding, 'Well, guess I'll be a Hand' was actually quite out of character for her.

Therefore, instead of casually flirting with Saqui before they left for their shifts, Quinn got there early to get her jacket, and avoid her altogether. Her dating experience was small, and she was painfully aware of it. She didn't exactly know how to proceed. Saqui had made her move so _easily_ , and anything Quinn did would look like she was trying too hard by default.

She went over scenarios in her head, making and changing her mind several times during her beat. When she got back to the lockers, it was just her and Saqui.

 _Fuck._

She hung up her coat without looking at her. Then she opened her mouth, feeling she had to say _something_ , but Saqui had already started.

"Goodnight, Maciver."

She turned, and left.

'G- Goodnight.' Quinn said, to her back.

 _Did you actually stutter?_

...

Needing comfort food to deal with her embarrassment, she made her way to Paps place. They'd added a spaghetti sprinkled with some type of seaweed, and it was a nice change of pace. She was absently twirling the last strands around her fork, trying to make it last as long as possible, when Pap walked up.

"HUMAN. YOU SEEM TROUBLED." said Papyrus.

She looked up at him, deliberating.

"I _am_ , Pap."

"WHAT IS THE TROUBLE? I WILL ADVISE YOU! I AM QUITE WISE, YOU KNOW."

She smiled. "Yeah, I know."

"THEN DIVULGE YOUR BURDEN!"

"Well...I'm kind of wondering how to woo a lady, to be honest."

He said nothing. She wondered if she'd broken him. Then a bony arm planted itself on the table, and she looked up into his intense face.

"YOU HAVE COME. TO THE RIGHT. PLACE." he said.


	12. Dating Start!

The next day, Quinn was practically invisible. Not just to Saqui, but to the other Hands too. Her coat was gone, and she was signed in, so they knew she'd gone on her beat, but they didn't catch a glimpse of her. Then, when Saqui, and a few others returned to hang up their coats, they saw a bunch of red stuff in front of Saqui's locker.

"What's that?" said Valeria.

The look on Saqui's face was automatically suspicious. She strode quickly to her locker, the others following. The red stuff turned out to be rose petals. Saqui was confused for a moment, then her eyebrows lifted.

"Oh, no." she said.

"SAQUI CAYANCURA!"

They turned. Quinn was standing at the other end of the room, her finger pointing at Saqui, a boom-box handle in her grasp. When they turned, she set it down, and turned it on. An instrumental that sounded suspiciously like video-game battle music ensued.

"Grandma, I'll have to call you back." Kinu said, into her cell, and hung up.

Quinn strode quickly over to Saqui, then jumped, and slid forward on her knees for the last few feet. She rose to a kneeling position.

"I, the great Quinn Maciver-" here she tossed a handful of rose petals in the air like confetti. "-will go on a date with you!"

She seemed to be expecting a response. Instead, Saqui turned to Valeria, who'd begun filming the two of them with her phone.

"What are _you_ doing?" said Saqui.

"Making sure the rest of the Squad gets to see." said Valeria. "Go on, Quinn. Pretend I'm not here."

"Thank you." said Quinn, then slipped back into her persona, standing up. "And as such, to show I care, I have donned for you the nicest of clothing!"

She whipped off her Hands jacket to reveal another jacket with a criminal amount of sparkling, turquoise sequins. Valeria and Kinu laughed. Saqui looked from them, to Quinn, and half shielded her face with her hand.

"And finally-" Quinn said. "-I have purchased a gift that represents the strength of our- Okay."

Saqui had stepped forward, grabbed Quinn by the arm, and led her away from their laughing coworkers, who marked their exits with 'Awww's. Saqui's grip wasn't painful, but it _was_ commanding. She pushed Quinn through the first door they came across, closing it behind them, and switching on the bare lightbulb. They were in the broom closet.

"What was that?" Saqui said.

She seemed testy, with a hint of humiliation, and just like that, Quinn felt horrible.

"I'm so sorry." said Quinn. "Papyrus suggested it, and I thought it'd be funny, and endearing. I never meant to embarrass you. I'm sorry. I'll go leave you alone forever now-"

Blushing, she grasped the doorknob. Saqui halted her progress with a hand on her shoulder. She turned her, then grasped Quinn's face in her hands, giving her a slow, soft kiss that halted her breath, and sent a cold thrill through her chest. Saqui leaned back, their faces still close.

"I'm not one for romance." said Saqui. "I prefer to cut to the chase."

Finding her words again, Quinn said, "I...would _love_...to cut to the chase."

Saqui tilted her head, throwing the elegant beauty of her face into sharp relief.

"Come along, then." she said. "And we're burning that jacket."


	13. Fire and Ice

Through the last fourth of her beat, Quinn heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind, and turned to find Valeria jogging up to her.

"Don't you have your own beat to finish? What are you doing?" said Quinn.

"Nothing, if you don't snitch." said Valeria. "So... you and Saqui, huh?"

"Oh, god." said Quinn.

"What is that even like?" she said. "Do you just have dinner, say nothing, and leave?

"We _talk_...more than that." said Quinn.

But not much more. Their relationship was mainly...physical. And Saqui was pretty rough too. But that was perfect for Quinn, because she hated herself. She did wonder, sometimes, if Saqui _actually_ wanted to spend time with her, but every-time she found a roundabout way to ask, Saqui gave her some dry bit of humor that assured her she was enjoying her company.

"Aaah- AAAAAAAH!"

"NOOOOOO!"

The shouts came from down the street, and the voices sounded all too familiar. Quinn and Valeria broke into a run, strides syncing. At the foot of an apartment building, they found a Vulkin and an Ice Cap, with a throng of boys running away from them. She recognized the Vulkin. It was the buddy who warmed up her apartment. The Ice Cap's cap had been shoved into the spout. It had melted into nothing, the icy water streaming down Vulkin's body. Vulkin shivered violently, looking ill, and the Ice Cap was crying.

"Noooo! My cap, my beautiful cap!" the Ice Cap cried.

"D- Doesn't feel good." Vulkin chattered.

"What the _hell_ is wrong with people?" said Quinn.

They rushed over. Valeria went to comfort the Ice Cap, and Quinn went to her friend.

"Hey, buddy." she said, squatting down to his level. "Remember me?"

"A-Ahh does."

"We're gonna get you something hot to make you feel better, okay? Do you like coffee?"

"Y- yes!"

"I'm so sorry, sir." Valeria was saying. "Me and the Hands will get you some ice to work with tomorrow. I know it's not the same, I'm sorry."

"Vulkin?" said Quinn. "Do you think you can remember their faces?"

Quinn caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned. It was the scrawny boy, who'd supported the Madjick earlier.

"I don't know about them, but I can." he said. "One of them was my classmate."


	14. Quinn vs Quade

He told Quinn that the group met at Quade's house on the regular, and that they'd been heading in that direction. Quinn tried to make him stay, and give them more details, but he seemed in a hurry to leave.

"Aw, let him go." said Valeria. "What do you say? Catch 'em red handed?"

"Chase them?" said Quinn.

"Yeah."

"Shouldn't we go back to base, and ask Tasheka, or someone?"

"No, Quinn, think of it. If we catch up with them moments after their crime, we show them that the Hands are efficient as hell, and they can't make a move without immediate consequences. We _scare_ them. I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for a bit of menacing."

Quinn felt unsure. She definitely wanted to run after them, but she also had a huge fear of getting in trouble.

"Come on." said Valeria. "If we go now, we can have the excuse of no one being around to tell us no."

"You got your car?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah." said Valeria. "How do you think I caught up with you?"

They punched the address the boy had given them into the GPS in Quinn's phone, and parked a little ways away from the house. The boys were outside on the lawn. They'd fired up a grill, taken beers out from a cooler, and were chatting happily.

"Look like a hard-ass." Valeria told her.

Shoulder to shoulder, looking sleek and intimidating, they strode up to their yard. The boys gradually stopped talking at the sight of them. Some looked scared. Others rolled their eyes.

"Evening, gents." said Valeria. "Can you account for your whereabouts thirty minutes ago?"

There was a pause.

"No." said Budz.

"That's funny." said Quinn. "Because _we_ can. We have a witness who says he saw you shoving Ice Cap's hat down Vulkin's spout."

"I'm sorry." said Cody, standing. "Are you guys police now?"

"No, but-" Quinn started.

"No." said Cody. "So, how about you get off my friend's property until you have some?"

"Hold up, Cody." said Quade.

Quade walked leisurely up to them.

"Want a beer, ladies?" he asked.

Quinn didn't know about Valeria, but any anger and power she'd felt was gone. Maybe they could win with police, but at this moment, all they could do was be humiliated. They'd try to logic their way into this, but had ended up making a hotheaded, impulsive decision all the same. So, best to leave, and minimize the damage.

"No." said Quinn. "I think we should go get those police your buddy mentioned. Come on, V."

"Yeah, good luck with that." said Quade. "My dad's lawyer will grind you into the dirt. _God_ , your whole organization is useless, isn't it? You can't arrest people. You can't fight them. Literally all you can do is talk to people. Who's going to listen to you? I'm not."

"What do you want?" said Quinn. "What's your cause? Because if you go around bullying defenseless bystanders in the street, no one's going to listen to you either."

"I'm not a bully." said Quade. "I'm literally fighting monsters. Which, by definition, makes me a hero."

"Allegedly." said Cody.

"Yeah, allegedly fighting monsters." said Quade.

"You're a nasty, privileged little boy, and you're going to go the same way as racists and homophobes." said Valeria. "Come on, Quinn."

They started walking away, but Quade wasn't going to let them leave with the last word.

"Yeah, yeah." he called after them. "Or we'll _win_."

...

"What did you think you were _doing?_ " said Undyne. "You should have come straight to me!"

" _Mmmm_ -hmm." said Yazen, from behind her.

"We thought that-" Valeria started.

"You _thought_ nothing!" barked Undyne. "You were angry, and you charged! It's not your job to chase people down!"

"I'm sorry." said Quinn. "You're absolutely right. It won't happen again."

"Dang right it won't!" said Undyne. "Now, what about this witness?"

"...Yeah, it turns out, he's too scared to go to court for us." said Valeria.

Undyne gave a big, fake smile.

"Well!" she said. "Isn't this just the most best and glorious of days!"

Yazen's eyebrows crinkled.

"I'm sorry, trainer, I don't understand how-" he started.

" _Sarcasm_ , Yazen." said Undyne.

"What do we do now?" Quinn asked.

"Your _job_." said Undyne. "This isn't the field you're fighting on. We'll have one of your beats circle Vulkin and Ice Cap's apartment for a few days, and maybe that'll keep 'em from going after those two again, but that's it! You're not cops. You're Hands, and you're anger isn't wanted, _or_ needed here!"

...

When she went to put up her coat, she found Saqui leaning against her locker. She joined her.

"She chewed you out?" asked Saqui.

"Yeah." said Quinn. "But we deserved it. We were stupid. I don't know about this whole 'no anger' thing, though. We deserve to be ang- The _monsters_ deserve to be angry."

"I don't know if anyone _deserves_ anything." said Saqui.

"Justified, then?" said Quinn. "How the hell are we gonna change the world, having conversations in the street?"

"I don't know. If you can make people listen to you... Romanticization carries a lot of weight. You're romanticizing the monsters' case."

"I suppose."

"To tell you the truth, I'm with you." said Saqui. "Anger makes things happen. People don't move unless they're pushed."

"Thank you."

Saqui tilted her head, smiling a bit at Quinn's glum face.

"Do you want to make out a little bit?" Saqui asked.

Quinn sighed.

"Yeah." she said.

 _((AN: Give me a 'Yo!' in the reviews if you're still reading.))_


	15. Family Fued

Quinn got a fifteen minute break in her shift, where she could pick a place to sit for a bit. She chose a Walmart, planning on picking up a sprite to slurp in the mini McDonald's inside. But the moment she got into the parking lot, she heard the familiar sound of a shouting, middle-aged woman, and rolled her eyes. Then she heard a man's shouts join her, and started running towards the source, wary that violence might follow.

She saw a Woshua, and a small, damp boy, who looked about eight, looking up at concern at the two parents.

She hurried over to the group.

"Hello, everybody." she said. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"The trouble?" said the wife. "The trouble is this _monster_ just _drenched_ my son!"

"Dirty." said Woshua. "Lonely!"

"He was helping!" said the boy. "I got lost, and I got sick, but Woshua cleaned it up! I thought it was fun. It was like the water park."

"Alright, Woshua definitely should have consulted you before trying to wash him," said Quinn, "but I think we can agree that his intentions were good."

"This is harassment!" said the husband. "And I _will_ be calling the police!"

"Sir, please, there's no need to-"

" _Quinn?_ "

Quinn turned, and was horrified to see her parents, and Liam approaching her. Her, with her highly visible Hand coat, clearly doing what Hands did best. Her mom looked the most upset, her dad disturbed, her brother wary of the fight that was about to ensue.

Her mother's mouth dropped, then she shook her head, forming a passive aggressive smile.

"Okay." said her mother. "When were you going to tell us?"

"Um, excuse me?" said the wife.

Her mother smiled at them, tightly.

"Excuse _me,_ " she said, "this is _my daughter._ "

It took everything Quinn had to not get flustered, to respond professionally.

"I'm busy at the moment." she said, neutrally. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Uh, no, I think you need to tell us _now_." said her mother, crossing her arms.

 _I don't live under your roof. I don't have to explain anything,_ Quinn thought.

She _had_ to keep her temper in check. She _had_ to say the right things.

"Okay, you guys have fun with this." said the husband. "We're reporting this."

Quinn felt herself panicking, her control slipping. She made eye contact with her brother, and gave him a small expression that he recognized as a plea.

"Lets go home." said Liam.

Their mother turned to him, ready to scoff.

"Lets go home." Liam repeated, before she could start.

Mother tilted her head, then stormed off. Inwardly, Quinn winced, knowing the crap Liam would have to face for that. But their father followed her, and so did Liam, after a nod at Quinn.

She turned back to the couple, halting the husband before he could dial with a raise of her hand.

"Please." she said. "Just give me one moment."

She turned to Woshua.

...

After many reassurances, and getting Woshua to apologize, and promise never to do this again, she was able to get the couple to begrudgingly back down. When she got home, she was too mad to call her mother, who clearly expected _Quinn_ to call _her._

So neither called.


	16. Flaming Hot Spaghetti

Days passed. Quinn gradually fell into the swing of things. She'd begun to relax, thinking the boys had finished their fun, and there'd be no consequences to her and Valeria's little mistake. Then one day, as she was chatting with the Hands who'd finished their beats at the same time as her, Valeria burst in.

" _Pap's place is on fire!_ " she said.

They didn't ask questions. They just ran, Quinn slipping back into her coat as she went.

When they got there, they found a bunch of monsters, presumably patrons, sitting or standing on the sidewalk outside. Papyrus was among them. Quinn thought he was shaking a little, and wondered if skeletons had to worry about smoke inhalation.

Humans were passing by on the sidewalk, unconcerned for the most part. A few had stopped to look distastefully at the scene, obviously irritated at the prospect of the fire catching to the surrounding buildings.

Quinn could see the fire licking inside the building. It hadn't reached the exterior yet, but that's not to say it wouldn't very soon.

"Yazen, call the fire department." said Tasheka.

"Someone already has-" Yazen started.

"Just do it." Valeria snapped.

Valeria looked surly, obviously not sure any human would've bothered. As for Quinn, she had to wonder if the department was deliberately taking their time. There was a station not too far from here.

"Valeria, can you go get Woshua?" asked Quinn.

"Yep." said Valeria, taking off at once.

Quinn approached Papyrus, leaning down.

"Papyrus?" she said, gently. "Buddy? Is anyone still inside?"

Of course there wouldn't be, she thought, as Papyrus gained his bearings. But it was just as well to check-

"LESSER DOG!" Papyrus burst. "HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN MY DEAR FRIEND? I MUST RESCUE-"

He'd started to stand, but Quinn stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"No, Papyrus," she said, "This is a job for a...fire-fighter."

She looked at the building, then back to Papyrus.

"Just sit tight, buddy." she said.

She whipped off her jacket, and went to Saqui, nodding at the water bottle in her hand. Saqui gave it to her, and Quinn drenched her coat with it. She draped the jacket over her head.

"Quinn, no-" Tasheka started, when she saw what she was doing.

Without a word, Quinn ran inside the building. She knew if she hesitated, she'd risk being stopped, or losing her nerve. Behind her, she heard Saqui stopping the others from following her. Good.

The place was searing with heat, and the thick smell of smoke. She got down, crawling, to avoid being poisoned. The fire was starting to lick up the walls of the dining room, spreading to the outer tables. She heard Lesser Dog yelping in the kitchen, the door of which was wedged between two flaming tables.

 _Don't panic._ she thought. _Do it if you're going to._

She stood, and ran, barreling through the doors. The heat made her sides spark with pain, and she felt her jeans catch. Once she was inside the kitchen, she immediately stopped, dropped, and rolled.

Lesser Dog had gotten his head stuck under the sink when he'd tried to weasel through the pipes to get a fallen meatball. He whined, pleadingly, at the sight of her, and she wondered if she'd risked all this to save a creature that wasn't sentient at all, and was, in fact, a dog. Ah, well. What were firefighters for?

"Easy." she said, making soothing clucking sounds.

She held his head, and gently guided it so that he was able to scramble out. Lesser Dog started running around her ankles, yipping gratefully.

"Hold on- hold on, buddy- _Sit._ " she said.

Lesser Dog sat.

"There you go. Bear with me." she said.

Quinn filled a pot with water from the sink, and resoaked her jacket. She swept Lesser Dog under her arm, the jacket wrapped around him, and hobbled with the pot of water to the door. She kicked it open, heaving the water at one of the tables. There was a brief gap in the flames, and she dove through it.

Flames were now enveloping the front entrance in a wall. Her heart thudded. She looked around for another exit- a window, a side-door- but all she saw was fire.

Suddenly, she felt something cold on her cheek, and the flames in front of her slowly began to lessen. It was Woshua, spraying at the fire. He caught sight of them through the flames, and gave a hard spray of soapy water for all he was worth. She ran through it. Woshua immediately fell back, exhausted. She started coughing and gagging. She spotted Greater Dog, and handed Lesser Dog to her.

Someone spun her around by her shoulder.

"You're an idiot." said Saqui, and hugged her, roughly.

"Pap," said Tasheka, "how did this start?"

"A VILLAINOUS YOUNG MAN THREW SOMETHING FLAMING THROUGH THE WINDOW! FEAR NOT, HUMAN! THERE WERE MANY WITNESSES, AND SURELY JUSTICE WILL SOONED BE SERVED!"

Finally, Quinn heard alarms as the firetruck pulled up the street.

When she looked back at Pap, Sans had appeared by his side. His coat was disheveled. He appeared to have come here in some hurry, but now that he was here, looked very passive about the whole thing.

"hey, bro." he said. "you okay?"

"MORE THAN OKAY, BROTHER! IT TAKES MORE THAN SOME UNDERDEVELOPED FLAMES TO RATTLE THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

"got out of there right quick, didn't you? well, you know what they say."

"SANS! NO!"

"if you can't stand the heat-"

"STOP!"

"Does this place have a street camera?" Quinn asked Tasheka, her voice rough.

"i wouldn't worry about that, buddy." said Sans. "it won't matter."


	17. Red Hands

They'd been caught on tape. After a brief witness statement from her, and other Hands, Quinn relaxed. Finally, the Quade situation would be erased, pulling up the balls of stress it'd left under her skin like roots.

Half a week later, after another training session with Undyne, Yazen got a call. He gave brief replies, so that the Hands couldn't discern what he was talking about, but they all felt it. He went to Undyne's room, and came back half a moment later. They all crowded around him.

"Was that about the results?" asked Quinn.

"Yes." said Yazen.

"And?" said Quinn.

"The police say there isn't enough evidence to convict." said Yazen.

There was a pause. Then, everyone was on him.

"Isn't enough- They were caught on camera!" said Kinu.

"They said it's too blurry to make a definite match." said Yazen.

"It most certainly was not!" said Quinn.

"If blurry footage is all they have-" Saqui started.

"And witness statements from Papyrus! Everyone _knows_ it was them!" said Quinn.

"Okay, calm down, Q." said Valeria.

"No, they can't just get away with this!" Quinn snapped. "Monsters could have _died!_ They're going to have to patch up the restaurant out of pocket! And they're just letting this happen!"

"I know, okay?" Valeria cut her off. "I know. But there's nothing we can do."

"That's not true." said Tasheka.

"Yeah?" said Quinn, eagerly.

"We can volunteer our free time to Pap, and help him rebuild." said Tasheka. "We could donate, and ask other people for donations. We can let them know they're not alone."

"...And that's it?" said Quinn. "That's it, and the boys go off scott free?"

"No one likes it, Quinn." said Valeria. "They're just trying to make the best out of a bad situation."

...

When she was walking towards her car at the end of the day, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"What's the plan?" said Saqui.

"...I'm going to go over there tonight, and I'm going cover Quade's pretty little car in raw eggs, and key scratches. If I cut through the sewers, the street cameras won't pick me up." said Quinn.

"Ha ha!" said Saqui, eyebrows raised. "I wouldn't...You know what? Okay."

" _Okay?_ "

"Okay. You do what you think is best. And I'll meet you there tonight. 11:30."

"Alright." said Quinn, excitement growing.

This was really happening.

"Alright." she repeated. "I'll see you there."

They split, heading towards their separate vehicles.

As they drove away, someone stepped out from behind the dumpster. He'd accidentally thrown his recycling behind it, and wasn't one to cheat the Earth.

Yazen ran back inside.


	18. Whistleblower

A few hours later, Quinn found herself sitting in an empty office, alone.

They'd let her get into the sewers, and wet her feet. But the moment she'd turned around, a familiar, short skeleton had been there to greet her. He'd shaken her hand, and before she knew it, she was here.

She knew she was in a lot of trouble. She wondered where Saqui was, if she'd been caught too.

The door opened.. Sans, Cora, Undyne, and Frisk- _mother-freaking Frisk_ \- walked inside. She stood, automatically.

"Ambassador Frisk-" she started.

"Sit. Down." said Undyne.

She sat.

Frisk- the small child forced to grow up to soon- sat across from her, the others standing around them.

"We heard what you were planning to do, Quinn, so we sent Sans to stop you, for everyone's good." said Cora, grimly.

"How'd you hear?" Quinn asked.

"does it matter, kid?" said Sans.

 _Still no mention of Saqui,_ Quinn noted.

"Quinn?" said Frisk.

Quinn felt a chill in her stomach at the sound of their voice. Not because it was particularly intimidating, but because she knew how important it was.

"Everything we stand for is threatened if a Hand uses violence." they said. "Whatever trust the humans feel for you will be gone. If people heard what you were going to do, how do you think they'd respond? They'd tell everyone. They'd start attacking Hands whenever they thought they looked threatening. And they definitely wouldn't be _listening_ to them anymore."

"I'm sorry, Ambassador," she said, "but I wasn't doing it as a Hand. I made sure to plan it for my off hours-"

Sans chuckled.

"buddy, you're never off hours." he said. "not when it comes to this. didn't you read the fine print?"

"I... I skimmed it." said Quinn.

Sans shook his head.

"I knew it." said Cora. "We need to have someone assigned to go through each part of the paper with them right there."

"well, as the humans are so fond of saying, ignorance of the law is no excuse." said Sans.

There was a pause as the relevance of his words sank in.

"...Do you mean you're going to fire me?" she said. "Please...please, what can I do? What can I do to make up for this? I'll do overtime, I'll work under depleted pay, I'll-"

As she talked, Frisk looked at Sans, and an unspoken communication transpired between them.

"run along, Quinn." he said.

"I..." she started. "...Undyne, please-"

"Go _home_ , Quinn." said Undyne.

"really, buddy, what made you think you have more of right to be angry about this than us?" said Sans.

Quinn felt like all the air had been knocked out of her.

She got up, and walked out.

She was in an unfamiliar part of town, but she still had her cell. She took a cab back to her apartment complex, and once she was inside, her cell started ringing.

"Are you alright?" Saqui said, when she answered. "I'm so sorry. I went back to get my purse, saw Yazen heading to Undyne's office, and put two and two together. I thought that if I pretended I'd only talked to you to tattle, then it'd be better, because only one of us would get punished. I tried to call you before, so you could pretend to chicken out, but my phone was dead."

"Okay." said Quinn, her voice neutral. "I just want to go to bed. I'm pretty sure I just got fired."

"You want me to come over?"

"No."


	19. The Shift

The next day, she got a call from Cora telling her to meet Undyne the following day. Quinn's hopes rose. She thought that if she was being fired, they'd tell her over the phone at this point, and have her last check mailed to her.

She'd been told to meet her in the training room. She came in just as the Hands were filing out. Some of them- Valeria, Kinu- gave her sympathetic looks in passing. Yazen didn't look at her at all, and tried to look as if he wasn't walking fast.

Undyne stood with her back turned to her, dressed in her black tank top and slacks.

"Nobody knows what you were going to do, besides us." said Undyne. "So, you can stay. As long as you can work with Burgerpants at the new MTT-Brand Burger Emporium for a week without yelling at anybody."

Customer service, in the most hellish form. It'd be a good test, but it was one Quinn was confident she could pass.

"Yes, ma'am." she said. "I can do that."

Undyne turned to face her. Quinn restrained the urge to take a step back.

"I asked them to keep you, cause…I feel bad. I feel like you might have gotten this from me." Undyne said. "You know, when I started off up here, I was just like you. I was angry, and reckless. Then I found out how much my anger was inspiring the monsters around me. One day, some of them acted out against the humans, and got arrested for it. Now, whenever they try to get paid for their work, they have to explain that. I know you're not going to believe me when I tell you this, Quinn, but you need to understand that your friends are looking to you too. Tasheka told me about the fire. The Hands listened to you without even thinking about it. You need to be careful where you lead them, because if you lead them into a disaster, you're never gonna get that out of your head."

 _I never wanted to be a leader._ Quinn thought. _I never asked for that. All I wanted was to find some small way to contribute to what I think is right. To stand up for what I believe._

 _To piss off my parents._

 _I guess it's time to grow up._


	20. The Hidden Hand

Working with Burgerpants made it feel like a swirl of hot smoke was in her chest, a pent up, toxic energy she couldn't release. She asked him how he coped, and he said that he didn't, that, it 'never got better' for people like them. That certainly hadn't been encouraging, but after a few hours tossing and turning in her bed, she decided that she was going to be nothing like him. Instead of venting her anger, she spent her time there planning.

The moment she was back on duty, she looked through the Headquarters until she found Undyne. She was outside the gym, downing a water bottle.

"I have an idea." she said.

…

Preston had stood witness for a Madjick, an Ice Cap, and a Vulkin. He'd been terrified to his bones both times, but still, another part of him was too frustrated not to do it. And besides, if he got in and out quickly, that would be the end of it, right?

Then one day, he found the bane of the Hands knocking on his door.

"Prestooooon!" said Quinn.

"...I am _so_ close to slamming this in your face." said Preston.

"Look, I'm not even in my jacket." said Quinn. "Just a couple of folks, sitting around chatting."

A moment later, and she was sitting on his plastic mattress, drinking tea.

"You want me to…secretly join you?" said Preston.

"Yeah." she said. "And then _not_ secretly join Quade's gang, and report back."

"What good would that do?"

"It'd give us an idea of what's coming. Then, whenever he plans another attack, we can make sure a ton of witnesses just happen to be there. Plus, you get to appear to be buddies with the people you're scared will clobber you, so…"

"...Do you guys pay? Real money?"

"Oh, yeah."

She was surprised at how quickly he'd given in.

"Looks like I caught you at just the right time, eh?" she said.

"I thought I'd rather be frustrated to the point of being sick rather than be unsafe. I was wrong."

…

"Preston!" said Valeria. "You're back! Here, try this on."

Preston puts on the Hands jacket. With the shoulder pads, he seemed a little taller.

"Can't wait to never wear this in public." said Preston.

"Oh, yeah." said Kinu.

"What do you got for us?" said Quinn.

"Nothing yet." said Preston. "Just a lot of posturing."

"Well, what are they like?" said Quinn. "Who's the smart one?"

"No one. Well, Cody, I guess, but they almost never listen to him. All the younger ones have to be talked into stuff, and Quade's only useful because he's vicious-"

"Wait. The young ones have to be talked into stuff?"

"Yeah. They're scared, but they don't want to be seen as weak."

"That's who we target." said Quinn, excitedly. "We sit them down, and _reason_ them out of this whole nightmare. Right?"

She turned to Saqui, looking for confirmation that this was a good plan. She trusted her intelligence.

"Hmm." said Saqui.


	21. The Beginning of the End

A lot of good things happened prior to Preston bursting the doors of their Headquarters. Her older brother sent her a text to indicate he wasn't mad at her. The coffee shop next to her apartment took to serving fresh muffins. A baby responded to her wave with a smile, rather than a blank stare. But Quinn would remember none of these, as the events that Preston's news started turned everything else around them black.

"GUYS!" he said.

"WHAT?" said Valeria.

"THEY'RE COMING!" he shouted, then tried to calm down. "They're going to attack HQ, and Papyrus's restaurant, _tonight!_ They're already on their way! They're going to break windows, light fires, the whole shebang."

"Nobody panic." said Saqui. "Let act. Valeria, take half the Hands, and go warn Papyrus. We'll warn Undyne. Quinn, you still have my keys?"

"Yes." said Quinn.

"Go to my place. There's a shed in the back, with a cardboard box marked 'college'. Inside, there's two high quality cameras. Drop one off at Papyrus's, and bring the other one back here. There'll be no chance of the police saying the footage is too blurry this time. I'll take Valeria's half to Papyrus's."

"Gotcha." said Quinn, already running.

In another moment, she was out the door.


	22. Cut to Black

Quinn parked hurriedly outside Saqui's house. It was a small place, built for single living, but extremely well kept. When she burst in, something struck her as off. The stillness of room felt weird. Creepy. But she attributed it to the guilty feeling of being in someone else's house when they weren't there.

She ran through the house, and out the back door. The shed in back was white, with peeling paint. The door wasn't locked, but it took a shove of her shoulder to budge it. It obviously hadn't been opened in ages. It was also pitch dark inside. Would she have to go back, scramble to find a flashlight, and _then_ find the box? How much time would that waste? Well, better to hurry and get on with it than stand there, worrying.

She turned. She saw a blur of movement, then felt a hard pain in her chin. Her head was thrown back. Her vision cut out.


	23. Rattled

A biting discomfort in her wrists woke her up. Her chin was aching. The ground was hard, and unforgiving. She tried to make sense of her surroundings. Dark. Full of stone. An underground parking lot. Empty, except for her, and the boys standing around her.

Her heart thudded. She tried to sit up, but she couldn't push at the floor. Her hands were bound with hard lines of plastic.

Quade stepped forward. He squatted beside her, and pulled her up by her shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry." he said. "Did we mess up your plans to throw us in jail?"

His voice was tight. Angrier than she'd ever heard it. Someone had riled him up.

"Quade." said a familiar voice, sharply.

Reluctantly, he stepped aside, revealing Saqui. A thrill of panic ran through her, before she realized Saqui was unbound, and standing. Then it gave way to confusion.

"Saqui?" she said. "What's going on?"

Saqui's look of apprehension dropped down into one of hard loathing, and Quinn could feel it. How _dare_ she. How _dare_ she be this stupid?

"You joined them?" said Quinn.

Even when she realized her girlfriend had betrayed them, she was still rushing to meet her approval, to show her she could put two and two together.

"Not too long ago." said Saqui. "I didn't want to. I was going to give the Hands a chance. See if they were spouting an ounce of anything other than ignorance. And I didn't want to be associated with them. They made their movement look like a bunch of racist buffoons."

Quade looked at her, but said nothing.

Saqui stepped closer to Quinn, and her voice was dripping with venom.

"And then, you decided to try and manipulate _children_ ," said Saqui, "vulnerable kids into joining your twisted cause. And I couldn't put up with it anymore. I met with Cody, and arranged to meet them all without Preston. They didn't want to trust me, but then I told them about my family history. About the day the war really began, when my dad and his friends saw that monster dragging around a dead child. He raised me to see the truth about them, to keep seeing it, even when people like you started to willfully go blind.

"After that, it was easy. We fed Preston lies, enough to bring down you, the Hands, and hopefully the whole freakish idea that started this. You want to us all to bare our necks to the monsters, to line up for the slaughter just so you can feel good about how open-minded you are, and then the next day, plan to total the cars of whoever disagrees with you. Well, now you're actually going to be contributing to something worthwhile. The police are going to hear that you attacked us with a gun-"

She reached into her jacket, pulling one out. Quinn's mind wouldn't register that it was real, insisted it was a prop.

"-but I wrestled it away from you, and stopped you. And when we tell them what you were planning to do to Quade's property, and the fact that the Ambassador themself covered it up- Well, I think this matter will finally be settled. I believe that."

"Hold up." said Quade, with a glint in his eyes. "Wrestled it away from her? That needs all sorts of evidence, doesn't it? Her body needs to look like she tried to hit people, definitely like she _was_ hit, if we won-"

"Alright." Saqui snapped.

She looked queasy. Almost shaking.

"Go ahead." she said.

"Red?" said Quade.

Someone stepped up behind her, and reached down towards her wrists. The plastic on her wrists jerked, then snapped off as they were cut. A grip, hard under her arm, dragged her to her feet.

Quade stepped up to her, and put his hands on her shoulder. He sighed, satisfied, and kneed her in the stomach. She bent double. The pain was leaden, and heavy. Quade stepped backwards, waiting until she straightened.

"Come on then." he said. "Fight. Fight for your life."

Quinn just stood there.

Quade sighed, annoyed, then ran at her. Another hit, at the top of her jaw, and she tasted blood again. She put her hand over her mouth.

" _Come. On._ " he said pointedly.

Quinn focused on the pain drumming in her head, willing it to drown out everything that was happening.

"You're about to _die!_ "

His fist slammed into her side. She shouted, instinctively, and backed up into one of the boys.

"What are you trying to prove?"

Another hit to the head. This time, she felt, or imagined something crack. Her vision went blurry.

"That's _enough_." said Saqui. "This is pointless. Lets get this done, and go."

Quinn felt the boys on either side of her suddenly scattering, scrambling to get out of the way. When she looked up, Saqui was pointing a gun at her.

A beam of flaring, white energy burst past Quinn's shoulder, and hit Saqui in the chest, knocking her backwards.

Quinn felt her equilibrium give out, felt the ground rushing up to greet her as she fell. As her face hit the pavement, her vision went black.


	24. Determination

.

 **GAME**

 **OVER**

You cannot give up just yet…


	25. An Unwelcome Awakening

She woke up with a sickly numb feeling. When she opened her eyes, all she saw was white. She felt the stiffness of a plastic mattress beneath her. Above her, there was a blur of white and blue that solidified into a skeleton.

"...well, this is awkward." said Sans.

He appeared to be in the process of setting something down in the gift pile beside her bed. He hadn't been planning to be the first person she saw when she woke up.

Quinn rubbed at her eyes.

"What happened?" she said.

She felt a sudden wrench in her heart as she remembered Saqui.

"i had to let you get clobbered a bit, kid." said Sans. "so i could film it. i got saqui's speech, and the beat-down. the footage has already landed her, and quade's group in some hot water, if that's any consolation. oh, but i think you have to pay a fine or something, now that they know you were planning to wreck quade's ride."

"...Am I fired?"

"no. it looks like the proof of you letting them beat you up countered the image of your little vengeance plot, or at least enough for undyne to keep you. by the way, self defense is allowed."

"I know. I just hate myself."

"well, don't tell people that. let people think you just learned to be so pacifist you couldn't hurt them. hey."

She looked up at him.

"it'll be okay, dude. now, buck up. your family's here."

"Oh, for fuck's sake-"


	26. Grey

The moment Quinn got home from the hospital, she collapsed on her bed.

Her parents had told her they still didn't approve of her being a Hand, but that they could just avoid speaking about it when they were together, and they weren't going to cut Quinn out of their lives because of it. But at this point, she didn't care. Her family, the Hands. It all seemed pointless. A big, pointless mess of mistakes and gullibility.

Saqui.

She still couldn't believe it. She'd been so sure that Saqui had cared about her, even if she'd thought Quinn wasn't the brightest. But then, in that parking lot, she'd looked at her with such hatred…

She turned, and screamed into her pillow.

Her cell rang. Valeria. All the Hands had left texts, telling her to call them when she got out. She didn't know if she wanted to call them. She didn't know if she wanted to do anything ever again. She let the phone ring itself out.

She caught something out of the corner of her eye. A bottle of ketchup, tied up with string like a bow, and a note. What did the aged skeleton have to say for her?

'take some time, but don't push 'em away forever, kid. as someone with a lot of experience, if you can afford not to keep things bottled up, _don't_.'


	27. Right Hand Woman

There was a knock on her apartment door. Her family would have called ahead. Probably one of her neighbors wanting to borrow something, or a robber. Whoever they were, they could knock themselves out.

"Quinn, open the door." said Valeria.

Quinn sighed, wrenched herself up, and did so. Valeria crinkled her nose, taking in her greasy appearance.

"Dude, take a shower. You'll feel better." she said.

"I'm not really up for company right now." said Quinn.

"I only came by because you're not answering your phone." she said. "The Hands are throwing a little end of the year party. You should come."

Quinn blew outwards. "I don't know."

"You should come." Valeria said, flatly. "To the party, and back to work. It's time."

All the Hands were in the training room when she got there. So was Vulkin, Ice Cap, Madjick, and Papyrus. It looked like Papyrus's place had catered the event. They all looked up when she came in, and it was evident they'd been waiting for her. Kinu stepped forward, and slung an arm around her neck.

"Well, come on in, sad lesbian!" said Kinu. "Eat! Food! Fun!"

Conversations resumed, and Valeria stepped up to her.

"Hey." she said.

"Hey." said Quinn. "I brought a fruit assortment."

"That's really lame." said Valeria, and hugged her.

To her surprise, Quinn felt something deep in her core release. Apparently, she'd really needed that hug.

Preston and Yazen walked in together.

"Alright." said Tasheka. "What's the verdict?"

"Jail bars all around." said Preston. "Saqui for a good amount, the boys less than I'd like. But someone leaked the video of them pummeling you on youtube, Quinn, and it has a lot of views. If nothing else, this is going to bring a hell of a lot of exposure to this problem."

"You know, the more I hear, the more I think I should get pummeled more often." said Quinn.

"Hey, she's got jokes again!" said Kinu.

Yazen straightened, and they all looked to see Undyne at the entrance.

"Hey, boss." said Valeria. "Want some…what is it you drink?"

"TEA!" Yazen burst. "Sorry. She drinks tea. I'll go make some."

Yazen headed for the back, coming upon Quinn as he did so. They made eye contact, and he paused.

"I'm… sorry." he said.

"Don't be." said Quinn. "You did good."

"I thought I did, but I still felt guilty." he said.

He passed, and Undyne nodded Quinn over to her. They stood to the side.

"You look better." said Undyne.

"Yeah. Valeria told me to take a shower. It helped."

"I don't want to throw everything at you a once, but a lot more people are looking at you specifically now. A lot of them are backing you because of the video, but a lot of them are against you for what you were going to do to Quade's car too. You'd have to be a perfect Hand from here on out, and even that's not gonna work for everybody. I don't want you to quit, but you should know that's an option."

"I know." said Quinn. "I thought about it. But the thought of all that stress was somehow less daunting than watching you, Valeria, and the others from the outside. I think I found who I want to be for the rest of my life, and people I want to live it with."

"Good. Because I'm apprenticing you to Tasheka as third in command of this faction, and you're going to have training and paperwork coming out of your ears."

Quinn let out a little whimper, then cleared her throat.

"Okay, yeah." she said. "Yeah, I can do that. You know what you're doing."

"Yeah, usually."

"HUMAN!" Papyrus called.

"SKELETON!" Quinn called back.

"YOU MUST COME, AND CUT THIS SPAGHETTI CAKE!"

"ALRIGHT!"

She went over to the long table. The 'spaghetti cake' turned out to be a lasagna. She smiled, and started to cut.

"NO, WAIT!" said Kinu. "Make a wish."

Valeria put an arm around her shoulders. Quinn looked from her, to her other friends, both human and monster, and smiled.

"...Are you gonna say something cheesy now, like 'I've already got everything I could wish for'?" said Kinu.

"Oh, hell no. I wished for wheelie shoes."

 _The End_


End file.
